Regarding whether the “public health restriction” definition would apply where a retail store (“a Store”) in a shopping mall is required by a COVID lockdown to close in-person shopping but made sales online or by phone for curbside pickup or delivery, or where restaurants in the food court (“the Restaurants”) who continued to provide take-out service, the Directorate stated:
[W]here a particular order or decision prohibits customers from physically entering a Store to shop, then “in-person shopping” activities could be considered restricted activities. The fact that customers of a Store are permitted to collect their orders at a designated location within the shopping mall, via curbside pickup or delivery, would not preclude a Store from having restricted activities related to “in-person shopping”.
Similarly, where a particular order or decision requires public seating areas of a shopping mall available to customers of the Restaurants in the food court to close, such that customers of the Restaurants are no longer permitted access to the seating area of the food court, the Restaurants’ “sit-down dining” activities could be considered restricted activities. The fact that take out service may continue would not preclude the Restaurants from having restricted activities related to “sit-down dining”.